Blank. Side 144 1840 - 1844

Curator: Right, let's discuss this seemingly simple drawing by Johan Thomas Lundbye. It’s called "Blank. Side 144" and dates from around 1840 to 1844. Editor: Well, my initial impression is, what a strange portrait! It's a book, open... revealing blank pages and those odd smudges. It evokes an almost haunted feeling, like faded memories or forgotten dreams. It's a portal! Curator: Interesting, haunted... Indeed! Think of books then; they were often a sign of learning, intellect. So, a blank page challenges all of that, it represents a pause, or potential, the weight of Romanticism. Editor: Potential... Or perhaps an ending? All stories start and, more poignantly, finish! Maybe it's more of a palimpsest of time itself. Are those smudges where inspiration struck and vanished? Curator: I love that thought! You see these empty pages could also speak volumes about creative limitations in that period. Romanticism wasn’t an easy path to tread, it’s filled with such expectation! Editor: Absolutely. And what better symbol than a drawing *on* paper of paper itself? A sort of artistic echo chamber. The red of the spine adds an intensity too. Not the neutral hues I'd expect from "blankness." Curator: The use of simple materials — drawing on paper — serves to underline its raw sincerity. You see there is no pretence, no grand canvas… Just paper. That raw texture. Editor: But here's the paradox, a romantic image, even of nothing, can suggest infinity! That blankness challenges us to engage, to imagine, to complete the art ourselves. It can almost set you free. Curator: A superb observation! By stripping away the narrative, Lundbye asks us to fill the void, to project our own story onto it. Editor: Exactly. "Blank. Side 144" then isn’t empty. It is crammed full of possibility. It invites the onlooker to bring forth whatever is present within us to meet it!